The Poof Downstairs hinges on a single, simple metatheatrical gimmick. Is gimmick too negative a word? A better word might be conceit. It hinges on a metatheatrical conceit and cannot be effectively reviewed unless said conceit is revealed - regrettably deadening future audiences' feelings of whimsical bafflement, but that's theatre criticism for you. So apologies to Jon Haynes -
Actually, to understand the gimmick - the conceit - it's probably necessary to know something about Jon Haynes, the writer and lead performer. Haynes is one of the co-founders of Ridiculusmus; The Poof Downstairs is semi-autobiographical, featuring a married couple based on Haynes' parents. In an unlikely metatheatrical coincidence, Haynes' onstage father is played by his real-life childhood friend Charles Millington -
Unfortunately, though, Millington's performance is unreviewable at the current time, as he was unable to perform on press night due to unforeseen personal circumstances; also, as Haynes mentioned when announcing this fact, the pair were never childhood friends, more schoolyard acquaintances. Thankfully Millington's understudy, Jon Haynes, is a capable character actor and delivers an understated but compelling portrait of the dour, gruff father -
Speaking of dour, it's probably worth mentioning (purely for added context) Haynes' well-documented deadpan disdain for the London new writing scene, because his disillusionment manages to colour his performance even though the subject matter of The Poof Downstairs has little to do with theatre. This is not necessarily a bad thing, as his throwaway snarky asides are amusing, especially to those with some knowledge of -
But none of this is germane without knowledge of the show's foundational conceit, which is - what, only ten words left? Sorry to disappoint - didn't think that would take so long.
Until 20 March